


About Time

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Series: Pride Month Prompts 2019 [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bisexual Pepper Potts, CEO Pepper Potts, F/F, Feelings, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 10:50:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19171765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: After 10 years of friendship, Pepper and the reader finally admit their feelings to each other. - Prompt: “I think I’m in love with you and that scares the crap out of me.”





	About Time

You’d applied for the job on a whim in a moment of hopeful madness. At the time, you’d been stuck working for Hammer Industries and needed out. You couldn’t take the insane amount of male ego floating around the place. It was suffocating. So, on the down low, you’d started looking around for something new.

It had been all over the papers: Pepper Potts, the new CEO of Stark Industries. A friend in their HR department had told you about the opening and without any real hope of reward you submitted your CV. You ticked all the required boxes but you hadn’t expected to even make it past initial checks, let alone actually be offered an interview.

When you’d turned up at the Tower, after quite the intense security check, you’d met with Pepper face to face and had the breath knocked right out of you. She was gorgeous. Of course, the longer you talked with her the more you were blown away by her intellect and scarily observant nature and the more beautiful she became in your eyes.

Aside from her stunning nature, the interview itself was fairly standard. Pepper asked about your previous work experience and the conversation inevitably turned around to your job at Hammer Industries. She asked about them, their work and finances and the like, and it was made clear that divulging that sort of information would definitely impact your application. But you refused to answer. Hammer and his board were the worst however their secrets were their own and not yours to share.

Surprisingly, although perhaps not when you thought about it, that was what convinced her you were the right person for the job. Unlike every other person she’d interviewed, you’d held steady and been faithful to your bosses, even though they were the worst. Within the week, you had started as her personal assistant.

As the years passed, you and Pepper grew close. How could you not? You spent literally every hour of the working day by her side. To start, it had just been sorting paperwork and arranging meetings but as time went on you became friends. You went beyond what was expected as her PA because you wanted to see her smile. You shared take out dinners at 3 am after working all night on important presentations. You jetted all around the world together, living your best life and laughing at all the men who scrambled for her attention.

You were there for her during the bad days, offering a shoulder to cry on and an place where she could vent and freak out without judgement. During the worst moments of her life, after Extremis and her relationship with Tony fell apart, you did everything in your power to keep her from falling apart entirely.

And Pepper was always there for you, too. When your last girlfriend had broken up with you over a stupid argument about the guy from the coffee shop. After every attack on the Tower left you shaking she’d pull you aside and talk you down. Remind you that everyone was scared but you both needed to present a united front, a calm and collected air to reassure them that everything was okay even when it wasn’t.

Like so often, this evening you stayed behind late with Pepper until you were sure you were last people in the building. She had a hard and fast rule that under no circumstances were people allowed to work past midnight, ensuring that the engineers in R&D actually went home to see their families instead of camping out (Tony had set them a terrible example). However, as CEO, Pepper never followed her own strict rules and the pair of you often stayed behind in the Tower well past her enforced curfew.

“Put those away,” Pepper said, tapping away at her phone before setting it aside. She wearily eyed the spread of papers on the floor; her exhaustion over the latest contracts was a feeling you definitely shared. If could both have your way, you’d shred the damn documents but then you’d had to start all over and you knew neither of you would survive that. “We’ve got other business to attend to now.”

Once you’d done as she asked, Pepper pressed a glass into your hand and smiled. A genuine smile, the kind that made her eyes sparkle, so rare to see these days. Life had been rough recently. Stark Industries was going through some major changes and the board were fighting Pepper every step of the way. The press were dragging her name through the mud for no other reason than she was trying to make a difference and had called a few crooked politicians out on their dodgy deals. To see her in such a good mood after the last few weeks of sleepless nights was certainly a surprise.

“What’s this for?” you asked, taking the glass of champagne and perching yourself on the edge of her desk. You took a sip, the sweet liquid cool against your lips. Pepper’s favourite. You knew the taste well, having bought and shared more bottles than you cared to remember. “Finally some good news?”

“No progress with the board,” she sighed, her skirt riding up her thigh as she sat beside you. Pepper rested her head on your shoulder and stared out the window, not really taking in the great view of the city below.

You, on the other hand, might have been taking in the view a little too intently so to distract you from the inappropriate thoughts whizzing through your head. Sometimes you wondered if Pepper forgot, or just didn’t know, how beautiful she was. Even like this, tired and stressed as she was, you wanted nothing more than to push her dress up further and -

Best not to continue that train of thought, you decided. Taking a long sip of your champagne, hoping she couldn’t tell how warm your cheeks had suddenly become, you looked to Pepper and asked, “What are we celebrating, then?”

“Something much more important. Today is the ten year anniversary of when we started working together.”

“Ten years? Really?”

“Scary, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I was sure I’d been here longer.”

Pepper rolled her eyes at your teasing and you fell into easy conversation, as you always did. It wasn’t long before the bottle of champagne was empty. By that point, the both of you had long since kicked off your shoes, unbuttoned your shirts and stretched out comfortably on the floor.

“I got you a present,” Pepper said, interrupting herself. It always made you laugh when she did that. All the papers who claimed she wasn’t as smart as Tony had it wrong; Pepper was just as quick minded and it showed most when she was drunk or sleepy and she just spoke her ever shifting thought process out loud.

Somehow still managing to look elegant as she crawled across the floor, her red hair like fire across her back in the gentle light, Pepper pulled a thin box from one of her cupboards and handed it over to you. You ran your fingers over the pattern engraved into the paper, tracing the gold swirls in wonder. It wasn’t unusual that you bought each other gifts but this was definitely one of the nicest she’d ever gotten you.

Tapping her nail on her leg impatiently, Pepper said, “Open it then.”

Like a child at Christmas, you tore the paper from the box and let out a gasp at what lay inside. A limited edition, vinyl recording of the charity concert that Pepper had taken you to last year. You’d been moved to tears by the beauty of the performances that night. The music had touched your soul and you hadn’t stopped listening to the pieces for weeks afterwards.

“It’s signed by the whole orchestra,” she said, turning it over in your hands and pointing out the soloists who had made cry. You couldn’t believe she remembered the evening in so much detail or that she’d gone out of her way to give you such a personal gift. “You like it?”

“God, Pep, I love it. Thank you so much.”

“Shall we listen?”

Taking it from your hands, she set the vinyl up in her record player - one of the few things she’d kept from Tony’s stash; he’d only ever had it because he thought it looked cool but you both made far better use of it now - and began to sway in time to the beautiful music. Pepper stretched out her hand, smiling at the ground when you accepted.

She led the dance, if you could call rocking in time to the music a dance. One hand rest tentatively on your waist, the other laced with yours and resting on your chest. Pepper’s cheek brushed against yours as you moved, the accidental feeling of her skin against yours slowly but surely eroding your self control.

You closed your eyes and let the melody wash over you, trying hard to focus on the instruments and not the way your heart was racing in your chest. Pepper had to be able to feel it thumping beneath your entwined fingers but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she just hummed along to the music, her breath warm on your neck, the soft vibrations sending shivers down your spine.

“Pep,” you breathed, the feeling of her in your arms quickly edging towards overwhelming. You couldn’t help the way your gaze dropped to her lips nor the way your fingers were trembling against her hips. All you needed to do was close the gap, that tiny gap which somehow felt as wide as a chasm.

Pepper sensed your indecision and tightened her grip on your waist, the implication clear: just kiss me already. You leant forward however the fear, the same fear that had held you back for the past ten years, stopped you before you screwed this up.

Even disappointed, Pepper was the most beautiful woman you’d ever seen. An indescribable feeling surged through you, a mixture of love and desire backed by a sudden confidence that convinced you to take the leap no matter the consequences. Giving yourself no more time to think, you brushed your lips against hers and felt your heart explode in your chest.

The entire world shifted beneath you as everything clicked into place. The soft lights shone brighter. The music sounded richer. Life was suddenly worth more than you could ever have imagined.

Her lips tasted sweet, almost floral. It was utterly intoxicating. You couldn’t stop with one kiss, or two. You knew then that you’d found your new addiction, a habit you never wanted to kick. Why would you, when kissing Pepper left you feeling so high? So alive.

You threaded your fingers through her hair, tugging on the strands as you fought for dominance of the kiss. A deep groan rumbled through your body when Pepper caught your bottom lip between her teeth, lightly nipping at the sensitive skin. She smiled against your mouth as you melted into her body, happily giving her complete power over you.

All your dreams were finally coming true, thanks in no small part to an overpriced bottle of champagne.

Just like that, you felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over you. Your good mood evaporated completely as you realised this was wrong. You couldn’t do this. Jumping backwards, you ran your hands over your face and mumbled, “I’m sorry, Pep, I just… This… Us…”

Hurt flashed through Pepper’s eyes but she covered it well. Not with sarcasm or anger like she would have used against literally anyone else. No. For you, it was just a slight smile. Sad. Self deprecating, like she should have known better. “Of course. I don’t know what… I, we, shouldn’t have…”

“No, you don’t get it,” you said, catching her arm as she moved to leave. You couldn’t let her leave with this between you. It would fester and destroy your relationship if you didn’t explain. Of course, admitting the truth might also yield the same outcome but you couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I can’t - not like this. You’re drunk. Stressed. I don’t want you to kiss me like that.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I’m in love with you, Pepper! I’ve never said anything because it scares the crap out of me. You’re my boss. My best friend. Lord knows I want to kiss you but I can’t, I won’t, if the only reason you’re kissing me is because of the champagne. It means everything to me and if it’s nothing for you then I just can’t. I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Pepper threw her hands in the air, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. Fingers shaking as she ran them through her tangled locks, she said softly, “The champagne has nothing to do with it. I’m slightly offended you think that little alcohol is enough to get me drunk, actually. After twenty odd years of drinking with Tony you should know that I can certainly hold my alcohol and -”

Your light cough was enough to get her back on track. Pepper met your gaze head on as she whispered, “Y/N, I’ve been in love with you for years.”

"You never said anything…"

“You were in a steady relationship and you were happy! I didn’t want to ruin that for you. Our lives here are so crazy here that I couldn’t interfere in the one part of your life that was normal. And then when you broke up with your girlfriend, I wanted to wait until you’d moved on and -”

You pressed your lips against Pepper’s, cutting her off as you backed her against the wall. “Enough waiting. Kiss me now, Ms Potts.”

“I thought I was the one in charge, here,” Pepper grinned, grabbing your waist to pull you flush against her body. Despite her protests, she didn’t waste any time in kissing you back, never wanting to deny you ever again.

“Take me to bed and we can find out who’s really the boss.”

Within minutes you were leaving the Tower, jumping into Pepper’s car heading straight back to her apartment. In the front of the car, Happy took one look at the two of you, a tangle of limbs and moans, and just rolled his eyes.

Putting up the screen between him and the back seat, he switched the radio on and mumbled to himself, “It’s about goddamn time.”


End file.
